Tag Archives: Cranford

Last week I took a friend for tea in the beautiful Wiltshire village of Lacock. This picturesque little place is well renowned for being the perfect place to film a good drama. Therefore the film crews of Cranford, Pride and Prejudice, Emma, Downton Abbey, and Harry Potter have all rolled into town at one point or other.

Lacock was mentioned in the Domesday Book and its famous Abbey was established in 1232. In the Middle Ages it had a thriving wooden industry. The dissolution of the monasteries in Henry VIII’s reign had a serious effect on the village. In 1944 the Abbey and the village almost in its entirety were bequeathed to the National Trust.

Unlike many English villages struggling to keep its village pub, shop, post office or bus service Lacock is thriving. Many tourists flock to the village because of its film connections. There is a village shop, a pottery, a jeweller, pubs, tea rooms, bakery and NT shop amongst other commercial interests.

Even more quaint is the entrepreneurial spirit of the villagers. Plants, books, meringues, courgettes, summer fruits, lavender were all to be bought from flagstoned doorsteps. There were bags kindly supplied for customers booty and instructions for payment.

I loved the wheelbarrow with its punnet’s of freshly picked soft fruits. Most mornings I enjoy seasonal fruit to eat with granola or bircher muesli. Berries chosen, it was time to push coins through a very snappy little letterbox. I could get used to this sort of shopping!

Lacock is delightful and of course there is always Corsham, a short drive away. There has been much excitement in the town because scenes for the recent Poldark series have been filmed there…..not Cornwall at all!